Jesus: The Pursuer
“Did you know that Jesus always calls you by your name? You don’t have to wear a name tag for God. He already knows your name.” – Tony Walliser
Read Luke 19:1-10
Jesus: The Pursuer
Have you ever been walking down an aisle in a store with a young child and turned away only for a moment or two, then looked back and found your beloved child was nowhere to be seen? How did you feel? Maybe not too concerned at first, but after checking the end of the aisle and then the next aisle, adrenaline and desperation began to kick in, right?
You immediately forgot about what you had been doing and shifted into pursuit mode, looking everywhere until you spotted your child. Only then could your heart stop its thumping at super speed.
Maybe you were the much-loved child. You’d gotten distracted and wandered off or forgot to stay with your parent as instructed. Suddenly mom or dad wasn’t there. For a minute or two it was kind of fun, but then you started feeling all alone, even abandoned. You began to feel afraid – until your parent frantically located you and rushed to your side.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of children being kidnapped and disappearing, never to be found, so the anxiety of losing a little one – even momentarily – is understandable. This is when we experience the power of pursuit. The parent dropping everything else to find the lost child, thinking one thing only: “I’ve got to find him (or her)!”
Have you ever considered that Jesus Christ seeks you with the same intensity and even greater love than a parent searching for a child? At one time every one of us was lost. Maybe not physically, but definitely in the spiritual sense. We were lost – separated from our Heavenly Father by something the Bible calls “sin.” And we didn’t even know it.
How do people become found if they don’t even realize they’re lost? It takes someone pursuing them, much like the parent seeking after a wayward or wandering child. In the passage above, Jesus says it straight out: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
How does that make you feel, knowing even when you weren’t looking for the Lord, He was actively and passionately looking for you?
The story in Luke 19 illustrates how personally Jesus, the Pursuer, seeks out His children. Passing through the town of Jericho, he found a little man named Zacchaeus. Wee Zach wasn’t a popular guy – tax collectors usually aren’t. And he’d become rich in that role. Yet with all his wealth, this despised agent of the Roman government sensed something was missing in his life.
He’d heard about this amazing man named Jesus – maybe He could provide some answers. But with a large crowd gathering, Zacchaeus had little hope of being able to see Jesus, let alone talk with him. So, he climbed a tree for a better vantage point.
When Jesus neared the tree Zacchaeus was clinging to, He stopped. What He did next stunned everyone. We’re told, “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today’” (Luke 19:5). Jesus not only saw Zacchaeus – He also knew his name, called out to him, and invited Himself to stay at his house for a while!
Can you imagine how Zacchaeus must have felt? The rest of the passage tells us how Zach responded, but the key is simple: The Lord knows us. He calls us by name. And He wants us to be with Him. What can be better than the God of all eternity pursuing us to have a personal relationship with Him?
This encounter, which definitely wasn’t a coincidence, proved life-changing for Zacchaeus. Jesus Christ offers to do the same for each one of us. Do you know Him? Have you heard the Lord call you by name and responded? If not, there’s no better time than right now.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” Jesus is calling and pursuing us. Will we answer Him?